CBP Releases Guidance on New Japan Steel TRQs Effective April 1

CBP released guidance on a new tariff rate quota on Japanese steel April 1, the date that the TRQ takes effect. Under the quarterly TRQ, agreed to in February as part of a deal on Section 232 tariffs (see 2202070064), steel subject to the tariffs entered under quota will be free of any Section 232 duty, CBP said. “Subject entries that enter after each quota fills are subject to Section 232 duties under HTS 9903.80.01,” it said.

CBP had issued quota bulletin 22-622 the previous day, detailing procedures under the new TRQ. The quota opened April 1 at 12:01 a.m. local port time, though entries submitted prior to 8:30 a.m. EDT were to be counted in the first opening at that time.

Filers under the TRQ “must use an appropriate 9903.81.25 through 9903.81.78 quota HTS number for the first HTS number, followed by” the relevant chapter 72 or 73 classification of the goods as the next HTS number, the quota bulletin said. Filers under a general approved exclusion must be filed in subheading 9903.81.80.

Entries under exclusions from Section 232 tariffs will count toward the in-quota quantity, but will still be allowed free of Section 232 tariffs once the quota limit is reached, CBP said. “Quota exclusion entries are charged against the quarterly limit that is in place at the time of entry and count towards the annual limit. Exclusion entries are exempt from the annual and quarterly quota limit ceilings. These entries 'use up' quota limits, but they continue to be accepted until the close of the annual quota period regardless of whether the quarterly or annual limits have been reached,” CBP said.

Unused quantities will carry over to future quota periods, with unused quantities in the first quarter of each year carrying over to the third, unused quantities in the second carrying over to the fourth, and unused quantities in the third quarter of each year carrying over to the first quarter of the next, CBP said. The bulletin also includes descriptions of each TRQ subheading, as well as applicable annual and quarterly quota limits.